4-year-old Saskatchewan boy on road to recovery after stem cell donation

Lincoln Honoway needed a stem cell transplant to begin his road to recovery, and doctors were able to find a donor who was a match one of only two in the world, they said.

The four-year-old from Regina received his stem cell transplant last fall at AlbertaChildren's Hospital after having been diagnosed with a rare blood disease called aplastic anemia last year. The disorder canbe fatal.

The Honoway family was trying other treatments before Lincoln receivedthe stem cell transplant. Then, doctors found the match for Lincoln.

"[It was] almost a good feeling knowing we were heading in the direction of being cured and getting over this funny life that we'd been leading where we didn't know what was happening next and how he was going to be," Lincoln's motherErica told CBC Radio's Saskatchewan Weekend.

Boundless energy

No matter what the treatment brings, Erica says Lincoln is always a happy-go-lucky kid.

Leading up to the transplant, Lincoln had to undergo five days of chemotherapy and full-body radiation. The family was warned by doctors that Lincoln would be worn out by these treatments.

"That just didn't happen with our boy," said Erica.

"I'll never forget the night after the radiation, the transplant was done the next day, and the night nurse came on and said, 'In all my years of nursing, I've never seen a kid like this after what he's been through,'" said Erica.

"He asked that night if we could have a dance party!"

Little Lincoln was brought a mini trampoline and a small exercise bike to help him make use of his boundless energy.

Anonymous friend

After the transplant, the first hundred days are the most challenging and important, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.Dec. 30 was day 100 for Lincoln.

In those days, Lincoln was required to remain fairly isolated in order to protect his immune system.

Despite the isolation, Lincoln made at least one new friend.

Erica said the family received a card through the hospital a couple months ago with a teddy bear hugging itself on the front, that read: "I'm sending you a hug."Inside, the card said "Did you feel it?"

"It just gave me goosebumps," said Erica.

For the first two years, the family can only have anonymous contact with Lincoln's donor.

The handwritten note in the card read"Hope you're feeling better. Love, your new friend."

"That was such a special day. I still stare at that card, and just [think] that person who wrote it saved our son's life," said Erica.

"We wrote a card back with all the thank yous we could possibly put into words."